hj2k_x
Honorary Master
Greetings all. My short review is below for your reading pleasure.
I've had the phone for nearly 2 weeks now and really can't find much to fault with the device.
I got it from Cellucity on the deal that is in the picture.
I was coming from a Samsung S9+ which was a great phone but the smaller battery meant I could never really get through a whole day of usage with it.
I haven't had that problem with this phone.
Running adaptive brightness on the lovely AMOLED screen, AOD active, paired to a Xiaomi MI watch all the time, I charge the phone overnight, take it off charge again around 5 30 or 6am and then it gets me through the whole day until 22h00 or 23h00 ish with some battery remaining (usually about 20-30%).
The screen is great. Good for usual mobile things, watching videos etc.
Rear camera performing well so far. Maybe slightly less good than the one on the S9+ but still snaps some nice shots.
The build quality seems excellent. Even though the specs tell might tell you it's not particularly heavy, it does feel slightly hefty when held with one hand. But it's nothing major. It actually looks a lot like my better half's Samsung S20+, which is saying something.
The 3.5" jack is at the top of the phone which is where I think it should be.
There is no notification LED (but the AOD makes up for this - be sure to enable developer options so that it stays always on and doesn't go off after 10 seconds).
The only downside I have picked up so far is connecting it to a Bluetooth speaker results in far inferior sound quality compared to connecting the S9+. Perhaps it is a setting I need to tweak but it really was chalk and cheese.
Currently still using the see-through cover which came in the box.
Tested the fast charger which came with it. And it does indeed charge very fast.
The fingerprint scanner is on the right hand side. It is on the power button. I was extremely sceptical about this but have found using it a pleasure. It is fast and responsive and is actually in the perfect position.
All in all, very happy with my choice. Would recommend.
Feel free to ask any questions you might have...
Update after 4 weeks of using the phone as my daily driver.
The good:
1 - battery life still excellent. With the screen set to 120hz, adaptive brightness, GPS on, developer settings enabled (and MIUI optimisation deactivated so that the AOD works properly), animations deactivated, Bluetooth connected to a Mi Watch and AOD active, I'm still easily getting through a whole day.
2 - charging. The powerful (33W is it?) charger that comes in the box does a good job of charging the large battery nice and quickly if you are ever in need of a quick tip up
3 - fingerprint reader. Side mounted. Excellent placement. Very accurate. No issues to report
4 - screen. Bright and clear in most conditions. The adaptive brightness does make it darker than I'd like sometimes, but I suppose that is also the point
5 - AOD. Because the phone doesn't have a notification LED, the AOD is crucial for me. It works well. The icons for notifications are nice and big and colourful. And having it on seems to have only a negligible impact on battery life.
6 - wifi connectivity. On previous Xiaomi phones, I sometimes had problems with the phone staying connected to WiFi which was a huge irritation. I haven't experienced any of that with this phone. Good, solid connectivity all the time. Also good 4G and mobile signal when out and about (this does reduce battery life, as it would on a y phone).
The bad
1 - the size of the thing. It really is quite hefty. Using it one-handed is very cumbersome. Compared to my Samsung S9+, it is considerably larger in every way. Having it in your pocket, you really notice it is there.
2 - occasional bugs. Every now and then the screen does a little hiccup or stutter when transitioning between apps for example. Hard to describe or replicate and might be because I have developer options enabled. It's a minor issue but worth noting as it might irritate some
3 - customising notifications. This is more of a faff than it should be. Sometimes the OS seems to override individual app settings which can be a hassle to sort out.
The average
1 - camera. I haven't taken too many photos or videos. Those that I have taken look good enough. I'm not a photography fundi but nice photos and videos are important to me. If I had to compare with the Samsung S9+ which I used for 3+ years before this, I would say there is not much to choose between that two. It's certainly not the best out there, but it should be quite sufficient for most.
Summary:
Would certainly still recommend. In fact, I have been recommending this device to all and sundry, for people who are looking for a lot of value but don't want to be dropping 10k+ on a device.
For what it's worth, the Mi Watch has also performed admirably in the 6 weeks or so that I've had it. It probably doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a Garmin or fancier watch, but it does what I need it to do, perfectly.
Update 26 March 2022: I've gone back to my old Samsung S9+. This Note 10, as lovely as it was, ended up being just too bulky for me to use as a daily driver. Too bulky in pocket. Impossible for me to use with one hand. Also, no sign of a software update yet either, which was a bit concerning/disappointing. The quest for a well-specced, reasonably-priced small form factor phone continues...
I've had the phone for nearly 2 weeks now and really can't find much to fault with the device.
I got it from Cellucity on the deal that is in the picture.
I was coming from a Samsung S9+ which was a great phone but the smaller battery meant I could never really get through a whole day of usage with it.
I haven't had that problem with this phone.
Running adaptive brightness on the lovely AMOLED screen, AOD active, paired to a Xiaomi MI watch all the time, I charge the phone overnight, take it off charge again around 5 30 or 6am and then it gets me through the whole day until 22h00 or 23h00 ish with some battery remaining (usually about 20-30%).
The screen is great. Good for usual mobile things, watching videos etc.
Rear camera performing well so far. Maybe slightly less good than the one on the S9+ but still snaps some nice shots.
The build quality seems excellent. Even though the specs tell might tell you it's not particularly heavy, it does feel slightly hefty when held with one hand. But it's nothing major. It actually looks a lot like my better half's Samsung S20+, which is saying something.
The 3.5" jack is at the top of the phone which is where I think it should be.
There is no notification LED (but the AOD makes up for this - be sure to enable developer options so that it stays always on and doesn't go off after 10 seconds).
The only downside I have picked up so far is connecting it to a Bluetooth speaker results in far inferior sound quality compared to connecting the S9+. Perhaps it is a setting I need to tweak but it really was chalk and cheese.
Currently still using the see-through cover which came in the box.
Tested the fast charger which came with it. And it does indeed charge very fast.
The fingerprint scanner is on the right hand side. It is on the power button. I was extremely sceptical about this but have found using it a pleasure. It is fast and responsive and is actually in the perfect position.
All in all, very happy with my choice. Would recommend.
Feel free to ask any questions you might have...
Update after 4 weeks of using the phone as my daily driver.
The good:
1 - battery life still excellent. With the screen set to 120hz, adaptive brightness, GPS on, developer settings enabled (and MIUI optimisation deactivated so that the AOD works properly), animations deactivated, Bluetooth connected to a Mi Watch and AOD active, I'm still easily getting through a whole day.
2 - charging. The powerful (33W is it?) charger that comes in the box does a good job of charging the large battery nice and quickly if you are ever in need of a quick tip up
3 - fingerprint reader. Side mounted. Excellent placement. Very accurate. No issues to report
4 - screen. Bright and clear in most conditions. The adaptive brightness does make it darker than I'd like sometimes, but I suppose that is also the point
5 - AOD. Because the phone doesn't have a notification LED, the AOD is crucial for me. It works well. The icons for notifications are nice and big and colourful. And having it on seems to have only a negligible impact on battery life.
6 - wifi connectivity. On previous Xiaomi phones, I sometimes had problems with the phone staying connected to WiFi which was a huge irritation. I haven't experienced any of that with this phone. Good, solid connectivity all the time. Also good 4G and mobile signal when out and about (this does reduce battery life, as it would on a y phone).
The bad
1 - the size of the thing. It really is quite hefty. Using it one-handed is very cumbersome. Compared to my Samsung S9+, it is considerably larger in every way. Having it in your pocket, you really notice it is there.
2 - occasional bugs. Every now and then the screen does a little hiccup or stutter when transitioning between apps for example. Hard to describe or replicate and might be because I have developer options enabled. It's a minor issue but worth noting as it might irritate some
3 - customising notifications. This is more of a faff than it should be. Sometimes the OS seems to override individual app settings which can be a hassle to sort out.
The average
1 - camera. I haven't taken too many photos or videos. Those that I have taken look good enough. I'm not a photography fundi but nice photos and videos are important to me. If I had to compare with the Samsung S9+ which I used for 3+ years before this, I would say there is not much to choose between that two. It's certainly not the best out there, but it should be quite sufficient for most.
Summary:
Would certainly still recommend. In fact, I have been recommending this device to all and sundry, for people who are looking for a lot of value but don't want to be dropping 10k+ on a device.
For what it's worth, the Mi Watch has also performed admirably in the 6 weeks or so that I've had it. It probably doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a Garmin or fancier watch, but it does what I need it to do, perfectly.
Update 26 March 2022: I've gone back to my old Samsung S9+. This Note 10, as lovely as it was, ended up being just too bulky for me to use as a daily driver. Too bulky in pocket. Impossible for me to use with one hand. Also, no sign of a software update yet either, which was a bit concerning/disappointing. The quest for a well-specced, reasonably-priced small form factor phone continues...
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I'm not getting any redmi above 3 grand again until those issues are fixed, the Mi max's are a bit out of my comfortable price range for a phone. But won't mind as a gift.
. I've not had those issues on the Xiaomis I've had.
